A/N: I don't own the Itallian Job or its characters, but I do own Maria, Kevin, and anyone else you don't recognize from the movie. I realize that a lot of people will probably come after with me with pitchforks and axe handles for this fic, but maybe some will like it, too, so I'm posting. Have fun.
Stella walked into the building for another day at work, Maria laying in a basket in her arms. This was Maria's first day at her mother's job – usually Charlie took her along with him to his job at Best Buy. It wasn't a very high-paying job, but it was honest work and Stella made enough to make up for what Charlie lacked. He hated having to depend on her like that, but she insisted that he get away from his life as a theif. They were able to work things out.
"You're so beautiful," Stella told her daughter as she unlocked her office door. "You have your daddy's eyes, don't you, sweetie?" She opened the door and then set Maria's basket on a chair. She sighed, glanced around her office, and then started up her computer.
As the computer loaded, a man poked his head in her door. "Morning, Stella," he greeted. Stella looked over to him and smiled.
"Kevin, how early do you get here?"
"Around 7," he answered. He pointed to the plastic white carrier. "Who's that?"
"My daughter, Maria," Stella replied. "You can come on in if you like."
Kevin walked into her office and looked down at Maria. "She's adorable," he said. "How old is she?"
Stella smiled. "She'll have her first birthday in a month. Charlie and I are very excited."
"I bet." Kevin gently took Maria's hand and looked at it. "Her fingers are so tiny."
"She's getting bigger, though," Stella assured him as she logged into the server. "She eats a lot more than I'd expect her to."
"Do you have many appointments today?"
The computer monitor showed her walpaper come up with icons on the desktop. Stella double-clicked on "schedule" and scanned the document. "Hmm… looks like only 2 today. Noon and three."
"That's good. You should have some time to relax."
"I hope so," Stella answered with a smirk. "Things have been crazy lately. And of course mothers never want to leave their babies for too long. Steph said she'd watch her, and I trust her completely, but even when Maria was with Charlie I'd worry at least a little. I guess that's just how I am."
Kevin nodded. "Jules was like that, too. But she'll be fine."
Stella smiled. "I know. Thank you."
"I should get going; I'll see you later." Kevin waved to baby Maria. "Bye, Marie," he said.
When Charlie woke up Stella was already gone. That's because she has a real job, he thought, slightly bitter. He wasn't bitter at her; he was bitter at himself. He'd never gone to college so he didn't have anything other than a high school diploma, and therefore his status as chasheir was about as good as he could ever get. Of course he could always go back to college, but then his wife would be paying for his education. That wasn't right at all. But then, neither was his wife paying for his meals every day.
Charlie looked at the bedside clock. It was 9:12. He decided to get up and shower; he had to be at work by 11. He didn't have to get up, but it wasn't worth going back to sleep over.
It was strange not having his daughter there as he walked down to the kitchen. Charlie had been taking her along with him for almost a year now, and it was strange to suddenly not have her around when he got up. Stella told him that she wanted to take their daughter with her sometime and she finally got him away from her, though it was hard. Charlie and Maria were almost inseperable. She would grow up to be a daddy's girl.
A/N: This was mostly introduction stuff. It will get deeper later. Oh, and that's why the PG rating stands and it's not G… it will get deeper and "all audiences" aren't capable of handling that sort of stuff. There's no language, little to no violence, whatever… nothing that I think someone would take offense to. Just so you all know that.